Tuesday, March 22, 2011

NOW Asserts that They Won't Defend Women of Any Political Stripe

Today, the increasingly irrelevant National Organization of Women (NOW) released a statement as a backhanded, faux defense of Governor Palin regarding degrading comments made by "comedian" Bill Maher. However, in this so-called defense, NOW asserts that they will not defend any women. As the Daily Caller reports:

“Listen, supposedly progressive men (ok, and women, too): Cut the crap! Stop degrading women with whom you disagree and/or don’t like by using female body terms or other gender-associated slurs,” Lisa Bennett, NOW communications director wrote in a statement.

...

“You’re trying to take up our time getting us to defend your friend Sarah Palin. If you keep us busy defending her, we have less time to defend women’s bodies from the onslaught of reproductive rights attacks and other threats to our freedom, safety, livelihood, etc,” wrote Bennett. “Sorry, but we can’t defend Palin or even Hillary Clinton from every sexist insult hurled at them in the media. That task would be impossible, and it would consume us. You know this would not be a productive way to fight for women’s equal rights, which is why you want us stuck in this morass.”

Let's see. NOW isn't going to defend unborn baby girls. They aren't going to defend liberal women like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. They aren't going to defend conservative women like Governor Palin. The 2010 California gubernatorial race proved that they aren't going to support moderate women like Meg Whitman either. What women are left for them to support? What a great way to celebrate Women's History Month, ladies! Yes, the amount of sexism directed at female politicians is huge, especially the amount directed at Governor Palin even by Daily Caller editor, Tucker Carlson, as we addressed late lastmonth. However, NOW uses a convenient excuse of excessive sexism and supposed conservative shenanigans as reasons to not defend female politicians of any political stripe.

Governor Palin has additionally supported women in her message of empowerment that women are strong enough to choose life, which also supports unborn girls. Her support for smaller government allows women to prioritize their hard earned money to be spent as they see fit for themselves and their families. Her support for fewer regulations allows women business owners greater opportunity for success and less bureaucratic red tape that would stymie their growth. Her support for addressing entitlement reform and the reducing the massive national debt shows that she supports providing a stable financial environment for future women. Her support for a strong national defense shows she, not NOW, wants to ensure " freedom, safety, and livelihood" of women.

That's just on the level of policy. When it comes to politics, who was the one who helped provide a boost to the election of the first female Governor of New Mexico, Susana Martinez, first female Governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, or first female governor of Oklahoma, Mary Fallin? It certainly wasn't NOW. NOW has asserted that they won't waste their time defending Secretary Clinton or Governor Palin, both of whom stated just last week that it's time for a female president. Female candidates and women in general can officially say, "women need NOW like a fish needs a bicycle".